The latest Battlefield 3 patch, released a few weeks ago, was eagerly awaited by gamers, and it fixed a lot of issues and balanced out some things. However, not everyone is pleased. We all have our opinions on the new patch, and depending on whom you ask, some of the weapons have been nerfed too much, some have been buffed too much, etc. DICE’s Patrick Bach responded to patch criticism in a recent interview, saying:

“The biggest challenge when you release a big patch like this is to wait. Because we know that if you have a favourite gun that we have balanced down or you score in a certain way by doing certain things and then we nerfed that down then you will get upset, period.”

Bach continued, saying that they don’t listen to the individual complaints, but to the community as a whole when it comes to tweaking the battlefield 3 gameplay.

“People do not care and they do not know about the big picture, but we do. Because we don’t care about single individuals, we care about everyone. We try to make sure that everyone has a great time and that the balance is overarching. So we have a lot of statistics, we look at all the data and we try to listen to people and ask ‘is this really an issue?’. And in most of the cases it is not an issue.”

We hear you, DICE, but you still gotta get of your behinds and fix the M26 glitch, pronto. Oh, and consider making the tanks not made out of cardboard.

A new pack of screenshots from the Close Quarters map Donya Fortress. Donya Fortress is one of 4 maps as part of the Close Quarters DLC, which will be released in June. Screenshots after the break. READ ON »

The brand new Battlefield 3 Close Quarters trailer showcases the newest map: Donya Fortress. While we can’t say we were big fans of the previous Close Quarters map, this one definitely looks better. The trailer also showcases the new mode Conquest Domination, but it’s hard to see with all the stuff blowing up everywhere.

Let us know what you think of the new trailer in the comments section!

True to the Battlefield spirit, the latest Battlefield 3 patch fixed a lot of thing, but it also included a few bugs on its own. And you have most likely come across that bug while playing the game: the M26 MASS attachment for the assault class is way overpowered due to a glitch. When the M26 is equipped with DART ammunition and the underslung grenade launcher, each dart deals full damage of the main rifle. Which means instant-kills across most ranges.

But DICE is aware of the issue, and according to Gustav Halling (via Twitter), the M26 glitch will be fixed in an upcoming patch. However, he didn’t give a timeline as to when we can expect the patch. Needless to say, the patch can’t come soon enough, as the M26 glitch is getting out of hand already. Given how long it took for previous patches to be released, it looks like we’ll have to live with this for a little while.

If you have been living under a rock and you just found out about Battlefield 3, if you’re deciding that this is the time to pick up a copy, you’ll be pleased to know that Amazon has 50% off on Battlefield 3 this week. That means you can get the game for $29.99 as a PC download. Sadly, only the PC download version is included in this offer, PS3/Xbox 360 editions still retail for $45.

You may have seen advertisements of an iOS version of Battlelog on Battlelog’s website for many months now. Despite this, we never got word on when or if we’d ever see Battlelog released on Apple’s iOS platform. To everyone’s surprise, EA has now released the Battleog app for the iPhone. The free app lets users check their stats, notifications, and friend lists.

The latest Battlefield 3 patch has brought a lot of fixes, tweaks and improvements to the game, however, it did come with a few bugs as well. One such of those bugs is found with the AA missiles, which are currently having trouble locking on a target from time to time. According to DICE’s Gustav Halling (via Twitter), a PC server patch will be deployed next week, which will fix the AA issue, and include several back-end server tweaks as well. The server patch will also be deployed for consoles.

Xbox 360 owners will be pleased to know that Battlefield 3 will receive the expected patch on the console tomorrow, April 3rd. The patch will include the same fixes and tweaks as the PS3 and PC version (see full patch details). The update will also bring the server rental program to the Xbox 360, as well as the “Shortcut Items”. The patch will be released between 9 AM UTC – 1 PM UTC, the official Battlefield blog states.

It’s been a few days now with the new Battlefield 3 patch, which brought a ton of fixes and weapon tweaks to the game. What are your thoughts on the new patch? How has it affected your gameplay so far? Let us know in the comments section! Also, DICE is taking patch feedback on Battlelog, so be sure to drop them a line as well. So far, the biggest complaint seems to be that suppression is too effective.

As for Xbox 360 users, your patch should be arriving this week. Fingers crossed.

Finally, the long awaited PC patch has received a release date: tomorrow, March 29. The patch will include all the fixes we mentioned earlier (see full change log), including the updated mini map, which you can see above. The patch will be around 1.6 GB.

In addition to the updates, PC players will be getting the “Shortcut Items” as well, where players can purchase unlocks instead of having to play to get them.